Question

Research the implications of poly-pharmacy on the elderly. How can this be avoided. What needs to be done to safely administer medication to the older adult and insure compliance.

Answer 1

Polypharmacy is the practice of taking multiple medications concurrently to handle synchronized health problems in a patient. For the example if the patient is suffering from CVS disorders he also develops the signs of diabetes and so many other diseases.

Such types of problems are usually seen in the case of elderly patients. In case of elderly patients the functioning of their organs are compromised. Usually their kidney and liver functioning is impaired.

Hence if they are taking multiple medicines concurrently there are chances of more and more adverse effects in them.

Thus during the polypharmacy there is need to adjust the dose of the medications to avoid the toxicity and other related drug interactions. The pharmacist and nursing staff should ensure the rational drug therapy as per the individualization of the case is concerned.

In the elderly care each the patients should be individualized as per their specific therapies on the basis of their physiological status. The whole drug therapy should be as per the best plan selected after concerning to the specialist pharmacists. In this way by implementing the above advised implications the rational drug use can be ensured in the elderly care. And in this way safely administration of medication to the older adult can be assured with the better compliance.